pen n' paper blog

Have you ever set goals to only have them sit idly in your planner, on your vision board, or in your phone, but are never reached? What hinders you from setting goals that are successful? What is the missing link in placing that checkmark of accomplishment next to your goals? In this blog, I’m going to share with you some tips that will motivate you to re-think and revamp your goals for the second quarter of the year.

Don’t feel defeated! Yes, it is already March, and you have only a few weeks to do the things that you set out to do in January, to only find yourself still trying to pull everything together from December. You are not alone, and often times when we’re goal setting, we are just calling out objectives that we either have no plans of really accomplishing or setting the bar way too high, that by mid-January, we’re already ready to give up and throw in the towel.

Set SMART GoalsI know you may have already heard of the SMART model, and it is a handy guide to building the objectives of what you’re trying to accomplish. Make sure you apply this model to help you. To dig a little deeper in using this model, let’s take a look at each component.S – Be specific. Narrow down your goals. Broad topics will have you all over the place. Streamline what it is that you want to do to the bare basics.M – Make sure it is measurable. The sure way to be defeated is to set your bar way too high way too soon. Be sure that it is something you can actually do right now and have the ability to measure the success rate of it.A – Achievable. Is this something you can do right now? Or is it something that can actually wait down the road? Don’t kill your motivation before it gets started. Set goals that you can actually achieve. Small successes are better than setting high bars to never succeed.R – Be realistic. Come on, now you know you’re 45 and you have a $400 budget; so there is no way you’re going to Aruba and hang glide. Set goals that are realistic, but will stretch your dreamcasting (I’ll blog about that later).T – Set a timeline. If you’re in business, you understand the importance of time management and meeting deadlines. It is a real killer to have ideas floating in outer space somewhere that soon get lost and you never end up achieving them. Be clear about what you want to do, and when you plan to accomplish it. This teaches you accountability.

The Object of Your AffectionWhat is that one thing you want to do more than anything? What is that one object of your affection? Is it completing a business training? Is it writing that first book? Is it taking that leap of faith and creating that first webinar? What makes your heart leap and drives you to satisfaction with success?

That one “thing” is what your focus should be honed in on. It is what you’re going to invest your resources and sweat equity into. Don’t be afraid to be fanatical about what you’re affectionate about. This is where all of your creative juices are going to flow, because it’s what you desire to do the most. Your affection is going to open the floodgates to making it happen. The success rate of whatever plan you set in motion is going to be determined by your level of affection for it.

Whatever you choose to do, don’t be afraid of it. Take your goals by the horns and put all of your passion and planning into it. Plan with a heart to actually achieve it, instead of just dreaming about it. Success is what you make it to be. There is no one formula to success, only you determine that for yourself. Your level of motivation can be drowned or watered to nurture based on how well you plan for them. Be intentional and have fun!

And don't forget to get your freebie from me today. Your own Goal Builder Worksheet. Set.Plan.Goal!